☿ // 008; [text]

[fionnuisce]

There is a concept in my world known as 'Second Magic'. The details of it are not common knowledge, nor is it widely used or explored at all by more than one individual. What is known is its definition in the broadest sense: 'the operation of parallel worlds'.

In short, parallel worlds where I come from are confirmed fact. And while I am not a scholar of Second Magic itself, now I find myself seriously considering the subject. Personally, I don't believe things are predetermined...and yet now I find myself wondering. Even if we restore everything to the way it was, what is the probability any of us live in a timeline that will end well? Mathematically, the odds are astronomical.

I don't know what I hoped to accomplish by communicating this. Maybe I'm so fucking tired I'm just going to ramble incoherently about magical theory until I officially go insane. Of course, maybe I already have gone insane. I might not be able to tell anymore.

On the slim chance anyone decides to come looking for me, I'll be in the laboratory. Exhaustion or not, I have work that needs to be done.

Comments

[bloodyashes]

What?

[Did no one tell you about the Score, Waver.]

I was born in a world where it was taught that the future was set in stone. I spent my life, literally, fighting against that idea, without ever knowing if it would change a thing.

Seeing proof like that would have been worth it.

[fionnuisce]

[not quite]

I'm not sure I could agree with that being worth it, frankly.

[bloodyashes]

[A snort. There is nothing you can say that would pop his bubble right now, Waver. He's over halfway to smiling, which by Asch standards is damn near overjoyed.]

Of course it is. It means that everything I did, the things some other me who didn't get sucked up by the Tower died for, wasn't for nothing. It meant something.

It means that our choices are real.

[fionnuisce]

Everything means something in one measure or another, you raving lunatic. What kind of miserable world do you people come from that's gullible enough to believe so wholeheartedly in fate?

[There's some meta sense of irony here, I just know it.]

[bloodyashes]

One that's functioned almost entirely off prophecy for two thousand years.

[YOU CAN'T BUST THIS BUBBLE WAVER.]

[fionnuisce]

...Fucking tradition.

[WHY IS THIS ALWAYS AN ISSUE.]

[bloodyashes]

Yell at Lorelei about the details later, it's not the point.

[BUBBLE STATUS: NOT BUST.]

[fionnuisce]

About that.

What exactly is going on with you and him?

I had a jello shot but I'm not drunk enough to make this make sense

[bloodyashes]

[Magical homophones, that's what.]

We have the same fonon frequency. That's the root of my ability to use hyperresonance and various other abilities linked to the Seventh Fonon - as far as the fonons are concerned, there's no difference between Lorelei and myself.

[It's the fact that Lorelei also seems to think this way that finally puts some sour back in his voice.]

....bb pls

[fionnuisce]

I'm going to pretend that made a shred of logical sense and assume 'magic bullshit' is at work here.

how do you work fonons. how do you work isofons /without/ the phrase magical homophones

[bloodyashes]

...Good enough for my purposes.

[Really needs to get Waver that book.]

/nasubabbles for eighty million hours

[fionnuisce]

I'm at least used to that explanation.

see I understand most of fonon shit AND nasubabble. I just can't words it when dunk

[bloodyashes]

If you meant "why do we look identical," the answer involves a lot of the reasons why trying to figure out causality in prophecies is stupid.

[Which came first, the stupid or the redhead? We'll never know.]

[fionnuisce]

...I'll pretend that made sense too. But then again, 'total coincidence' would sound much stranger.

[bloodyashes]

It's a question of whether I look the way I do because I resemble the form he took two thousand years ago, or whether he took that form because he had access to the future and knew what I would look like.

[The tone says that he's actually spent time thinking about this.]

[fionnuisce]

...I see.

[Not even batting an eye at that. Fuck it, at this point Waver would believe just about any magical nonsense.]

I think we'll be better off entertaining paradoxes as little as possible, don't you?

[bloodyashes]

Or I suppose we could just ask him.

[Yeah like hell that's happening.]

[fionnuisce]

Yes, let's just invite headaches and hours of arguing about magical technicalities. No thank you.

[bloodyashes]

Speak for yourself. It usually ends in moral arguments on my end.

[As for the headaches, well, that's a long story.]

[fionnuisce]

Never mind that for now, how does your world even function? Don't take this personally, but the more I hear about it I find myself led to think the majority must be absolutely insane.

[bloodyashes]

Like carefully conducted herds of sheep.

[Coming right out and saying it.]

Keep in mind, most people only are told the good parts of the Score, and it's much more vague than he shall be born of royal blood with hair of red, and he shall be called the light of the sacred flame. Probably about half of the Order of Lorelei's power comes from just allowing people to see what they want to see and turning that confirmation into belief.

[fionnuisce]

[That was some Orwellian bullshit on a global scale, Waver noted. He might have to discuss the concept in detail with Jade at some point.]

That's the most disturbing yet asinine concept I've ever heard. And I have heard some incredibly stupid shit in my time.

[bloodyashes]

The other half of the power comes from quietly disposing of anything that goes against it.

[Definitely Orwellian. Someone get Asch a copy of 1984.]

Although in the technical sense Auldrant was composed of two large monarchies and several other city states, it was a theocracy in effect. The Order could nudge the average ruler into doing whatever they pleased and did so frequently throughout history.

[fionnuisce]

Oh, let's bring aristocracy into it, as if I didn't have enough to be irritated about here.

[Waver. Please.]

[bloodyashes]

[ . . . ]

...I should be offended, but I can't even bother.